Jan 28, 2014

The future of capturing whale-watching footage in Southern California appears to have arrived and, yes, it involves drones.

The accompanying fin whale video, captured Monday by Capt. Frank Brennan of Dana Wharf Whale Watching in Dana Point, provides an idea of what could be in store in the coming months and years.

A lot will depend, however, on regulations, whatever they might be, and how they might come into play.

NOAA whale-watching guidelines suggest that boaters remain 100 yards from whales, but they're only guidelines. So far, guidelines pertaining to the use of drones for photography have not been drawn up.

But NOAA officials will be discussing this issue in upcoming meetings, an agency spokeswoman said.

Airplanes and helicopters are supposed to stay at least 1,000 feet above cetaceans, but are toy-sized drones such as the kind used by Brennan the same as airplanes and helicopters? (See image at right, courtesy of Gordon Gates.)

They're certainly not as noisy, but flying one too close to a surfacing whale could be perceived as a form of illegal harassment. Fin whales, it's worth noting, are federally endangered.

Brennan's battery-operated Phantom quadcopter, launched from the 95-foot Dana Pride, hovered at an elevation of about 50 feet.

The footage shows an estimated 70-foot fin whale swimming and stealing breaths not far from the Orange County coast. The aerial look provides a unique perspective and enables viewers to see the entire length of these majestic leviathans.

The footage was posted on the Dana Wharf Facebook page Tuesday afternoon, and was being widely shared. It was later uploaded to YouTube.

Brennan has been practicing with the drone for weeks, and at least one other commercial whale-watching business has purchased one.

Dana Wharf, however, is the first local operation to show off footage from what it's referring to as the Dana Wharf Copter Cam.

Jan 27, 2014

Capt. Larry Hartmann has watched thousands of bottlenose dolphins ride the bow of his 30-foot boat, but until Friday he had never seen the mammals develop such a close personal bond with one of his passengers.

The accompanying footage shows several dolphins swimming to the outstretched hand of Taylor Carty and looking her in the eye, and taking turns rolling over, as if craving to have their bellies rubbed.

"We've all see bottlenose dolphins riding the bow and at times jumping and twirling, but I have never seen them doing the backstroke like this," said Hartmann, whose vessel Discovery runs from Dana Wharf Whale Watching in Dana Point, California. "It was so far off the charts. I've never seen anything like it."

Carty is an exercise rider for thoroughbred race horses in Kentucky, so she has a way with animals, and it wasn't long before she earned the nickname, "Dolphin whisperer."

"She started talking to them the way she talks to horses," said Hartmann, who operates Captain Larry Adventures. "All four of the passengers were freaking out. When the dolphins turned over like that, it seemed clear that they wanted to be rubbed."

While the footage may seem lengthy and repetitive to some, it's remarkable that this interaction–with so many intimate approaches–lasted so long. "It went on for more than an hour," Hartmann said. "I filmed for 17 minutes and stopped only because I realized I was going to have to edit all the footage."

Hartmann said that despite what impressions people might have, the dolphins were not touched. He added that Carty was straddling the bow pulpit, in "an uncomfortable manner," but was not in danger of falling overboard.

The Discovery skipper gave credit to the captain of the Dana Pride, which also runs from Dana Wharf, for locating the pod of perhaps 40 offshore bottlenose dolphins.

The Discovery, which carreies up to six passengers, is a new arrival in Dana Point and caters to clients who don't mind paying more to avoid crowds on larger whale-watching boats.

While passengers on smaller boats sometimes enjoy more intimate encounters, nobody should expect anything this intimate.

Jan 23, 2014

An enormous north swell is arriving in California and expected to build Thursday night into Friday morning, signaling a green light for the much anticipated Mavericks Invitational surf contest at notorious Mavericks near Half Moon Bay.

How powerful the swell turns out to be, and what type of conditions prevail remain to be seen. But it's the same swell that slammed parts of the Hawaiian islands on Wednesday and Thursday, luring throngs of spectators to the shores.

Hawaii News Now described it as "the largest swell in decades" and published a slide show showing massive waves breaking on Oahu's North Shore, near the fabled Waimea Bay.

As a result of all the publicity, nightmare traffic jams ensued on the highway leading from Oahu's south side to the north shore. One of the more compelling pieces of footage was a video clip showing an enormous wave breaking in slow motion at Shark's Cove just north of Waimea Bay.

The footage, shot with a high-speed camera, was captured by Tyler Rock of Hawaii-based Freesurf Magazine. The wave face measured perhaps 40 feet. In a 24-hour period, the clip was shared more than 6,000 times on Freesurf's Facebook page.

"If you could compare these waves to an animal, what kind of animal would it be and what would it eat for lunch?" Freesurf asked Facebook users.

Mike Latronic of Manulele Incorporated, which owns Freesurf, said that although the people in the foreground appear to be too close for comfort, they were not in danger.

However, sea level is usually 30 feet below the road on which the bystanders are parked and standing. The tide and surge from the swell, and the towering waves, placed this surreal scene at eye-level.

"I've lived here for 35 years and have never seen a wave go over those rocks," Latronic said. "But [Wednesday] they were about 10 feet from going over the road."

The high surf advisory is in effect through Friday morning, just about the time many of the world's best surfers will be paddling out at Mavericks, which is an offshore break infamous for its cold, green water, an occasional great white shark sighting, and ominous-looking breakers that inspire a deep respect–also known as fear–among even the world's best.

The Mavericks contest is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m., with the finals set for about 1:30 p.m. The event will air live via webcast at Universalsports.com.

(It's important to note that the vessel was stopped and the fin whale approached the boat; not the other way around.)

This is somewhat of a rare treat for Southern California whale watchers.

However, researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger says this type of behavior is becoming more common among fin whales. One theory is that the whales, which have become more common off Southland waters during the past five or six years, are becoming more accustomed to boat traffic.

"It's pretty unusual but we've been seeing more of that in recent years," Schulman-Janiger said. "And when we see it, it tends to be juveniles, maybe because they're more curious."

This is the gray whale migration season and those mammals are either at or en route to nursing and calving waters off Baja California. (This is close to the end of the peak southbound migration period off Southern California.)

Fin whales, which come and go, are merely hanging out where there is food.

Fortunately for whale watchers, fin whales now regard Southern California as a prime feeding area. Below is more footage of the same fin whale, via Dana Wharf Whale Watch:

Jan 20, 2014

When the Gold family clears space in the trophy room before next month's Winter Olympics, they had better clear two spaces—just in case.

That's because Taylor and Arielle Gold, brother and sister, are Russia-bound for the Sochi Games as members of the U.S. Olympic snowboard team.

Both Colorado athletes qualified during a marathon series of Sprint Grand Prix events over the weekend at Mammoth Mountain in California.

The Golds are not the first siblings to qualify for the Olympics, and will not be the only relatives participating at Sochi.

But this probably is the first time two Golds from the same family will be going for gold on the world's grandest sporting stage.

On Sunday, before learning she had made the team, 17-year-old Arielle declared, via Twitter, that it was an important day for two reasons: "Big day today … Broncos vs Patriots. Oh, and they're announcing the U.S. Olympic team. #BroncosNation"

The NFL's Denver Broncos then dispatched the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, and the Golds began making travel plans.

Taylor, 20, qualified Friday with a third-place finish in the third qualifier at Mammoth. Afterward he tweeted, "I am officially qualified for the Olympics. Beyond stoked! Thanks everyone who has helped me along the way."

He'll join Shaun White, Greg Bretz, and Danny Davis on the men's halfpipe team. It'll be the first participation in the Olympics for the Gold siblings.

Neither will be favored to win a gold medal in events that figure to be dominated by athletes from the U.S. Clark is the favorite among the women, and White is favored to win his third consecutive Olympic gold medal.

However, anything is possible.

Arielle, who is known for taking chances and nailing big tricks, enjoyed a breakout year in 2012, when she won silver medals in the halfpipe and slopestyle disciplines at the World Junior Olympic Games in Austria.

Last year she won a bronze at the X Games in Aspen, Colorado, not far from the family home in Steamboat Springs. She also posted first-place finishes at the European Open and FIS World Championships.

Taylor, who posted a victory at the 2013 U.S. Revolution Tour and qualified for the Olympic team with consistent elite-level performances, seems to be coming into his own this winter. To be sure, the world will get to know both Golds a lot better in the coming weeks.

Jan 17, 2014

Not everyone can top a blog post with the headline: "A Sperm Whale Stranded on My Doorstep."

Nor can many say they've seen the enormous tail of one of the massive sea creatures protruding from the bed of a giant truck, as it's being delivered across town (top image).

Sarah Dolman, of the U.K.-based conservation group Whale and Dolphin Conservation, awoke last Saturday to find that a young male sperm whale had washed onto the shore in Edinburgh, Scotland, just minutes from her home.

"There was a general feeling of excitement, but also sadness, and several people I spoke to were moved to tears," she wrote.

The rare phenomenon presented opportunity, from a scientific standpoint. But it also posed a dilemma in that the whale carcass weighed 26 tons and could not simply be tossed out in the trash.

Typically, whales are either buried where they are found, or towed to sea. But both scenarios present problems because a rotting carcass can become unearthed or leach scent into the sea, attracting sharks.

A towed whale can—and often times has—washed back ashore with the currents. There are few other alternatives, however.

The main question regarding the Edinburgh sperm whale was its cause of death. There were large head wounds, perhaps indicating a boat propeller strike in deeper water.

Marine experts decided to perform a postmortem examination, but a more suitable location was needed. Hence, the carcass was towed from Portobello Beach in Joppa, along the Firth of Forth, to a deep harbor in Fife.

It was then hoisted by crane into the bed of a truck and driven to the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme in Dunbar.

Dolman, who assisted with the necropsy, stated that only male sperm whales will venture into the frigid Scottish waters to feed on Arctic and sub-Arctic squid, and that the whale's stomach contained "handfuls of squid beaks."

Rarely does a sperm whale strand in Scotland, but when one does experts want to find out the cause and perform other studies. A thorough examination determined that its wounds were not caused by a boat strike, however, leaving the cause of death a mystery still under investigation.

"Detailed postmortem results will take some time, but initial findings were that the whale didn’t die due to any obvious human-induced cause," Dolman wrote. "He had evenly spaced tooth rake marks on the front of his head, suggesting various interactions with whales about his size. Maybe relatives or companions in his bachelor pod?"

Dolman wondered whether the whale and its bachelor pod might have entered the North Sea by mistake. Also, she ventured, "Did the other whales stay with this whale until he stranded and perished before making their onward journey, and do they still think of their young companion?

"These are challenging questions to answer. We have so much more to learn about these deep ocean giants that live in sociable family groups, care for one another, and show cultural learning in their societies."

To be sure, it has been an eventful week for locals and the various agencies involved, who after taking samples were faced with how to dispose of the carcass.

Jan 14, 2014

An amazing thing about sharks is that they haven't killed more people, and by people we refer to those who tempt fate by purposely swimming with the largest and most notorious of apex predators.

Of course, some people are more cautious than others and attempt this in somewhat of a controlled environment.

Then there are the Harrington twins, Shaun and Dean, who were taught an important lesson last week after a harrowing cage-diving stunt that involved a large tiger shark and a near-miss attack off Australia's Gold Coast. (Note: Video shows dramatic encounter but contains brief profanity.)

Cage diving generally ensures a controlled and reasonably safe environment. But the cage Shaun Harrington used was a $50 birdcage he placed over his head before jumping overboard.

And the 10-foot shark was not in the mood for pranks because it had just been hooked by a fisherman on the boat as part of a stunt performed by the twins, who apparently like to joke around.

The excursion began as a "B-grade shark-fishing tour," but Dean unveiled the birdcage and his idea for the prank, and Shaun swallowed the idea, hook, line, and sinker.

"He pulled out the birdcage and told me, 'This is the cage we're going to use and we're going out there to find a shark,''' Shaun told News.com.au. "I said 'no way!' But we were out there and the first line our mate pulled up had an 8-foot tiger shark on it still thrashing around."

(The tiger shark is listed as 10 feet in the video.)

That was when Shaun jumped in with the birdcage. Dean also went overboard, but the shark seemed more interested in his brother.

It lunged toward Shaun, inspiring a panicked dash toward the stern of the boat. The shark made another pass before the diver was able to hoist himself aboard.

"I was flailing around like crazy to get back on the boat before it sunk its teeth into me," he said. Tiger sharks have been implicated in many attacks on humans, including several recent attacks off the Hawaiian island of Maui.

Those attacks are believed to be cases of mistaken identity, with surfers or swimmers appear as large turtles or other prey while silhouetted against the surface.

But a hooked shark is an angry shark, trying to end its struggle by any means necessary. The Harringtons seem to realize that now.

"It was heavy. I thought I was a goner," Shaun said. "We surf every day and never really see any sharks, but we definitely won't be doing anything as stupid as this again. My girlfriend said, 'No more—no more sharks!'

It remains unclear what became of the 10-foot tiger shark—whether it was kept or set free.

Jan 13, 2014

Passengers aboard the Cabo Mar fiesta dinner cruise boat are always treated to stunning views of Cabo San Lucas and the rock formations at Land's End, but last week their tranquility was interrupted by a pod of energetic killer whales.

In footage uploaded Thursday, the orcas can be seen breaching close to the 65-foot catamaran and seemingly playing to the crowd.

Killer whales are not commonly seen off Cabo San Lucas, a popular resort destination at the tip of Baja California. But small pods are spotted sporadically in the area, and particularly in the Sea of Cortez.